In today’s backward world, whenever a whistleblower publicly exposes government corruption, politicians respond by condemning the source of the leak rather than investigating any unethical behavior. This doesn’t make any sense in a society that prides itself on being ‘free,’ for none of us are free when we are lorded over by a dangerous government that deceives the public in order to enrich those who manipulate government to their personal advantage.

Ron Paul knows this, and he has long been one of America’s most outspoken voices for truth and integrity in government, now speaking out on behalf of whistleblowers who are increasingly being punished for revealing government’s dark secrets. Regarding this glaring incongruity in American democracy, Ron Paul recently commented on the role whistleblowers play in a free and open society, calling them the true heroes and patriots.

His comments are noted here:

It’s deeply troubling that so many in the news media and in both political parties attack the efforts of whistle-blowers and those who publish their revelations. These individuals risk it all, not for their own wealth and glory, but to inform us of what is being done to us and in our name.

Their releases are both heroic and pro-American.

We are told that the government must be allowed to operate in secret in order to keep us safe, but how much security do we really have if we allow the government to deprive us of our liberty?

What have we learned from whistle-blowers Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning or WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and others? We now know that our government views the Fourth Amendment as a mere suggestion, rather than a constraint on its actions.

Our consumer products have been turned into listening devices that the government can turn on and off at will. Those who ruled East Germany could only fantasize about such technology and its potential for controlling anyone who disagrees with the government.

Revelations last week that our televisions may actually be watching us? Has the CIA been reading George Orwell’s 1984 as an instruction manual?

If we are to be a free society, we must demand the right to know about government malfeasance. We must reject the anti-American notion that the government has the right to know everything about us, but that we have no right to know anything about the government. We cannot entrust our life, liberty and happiness to an unelected shadow government that operates in secret and is accountable to no one.

History teaches of the horrors that result when a people are willing to sacrifice their liberty for the false promises of government-provided security. Totalitarianisms of the left and right have thrived in such an environment.

Whistle-blowers are the truth-seekers, and we must demand the truth. Who does not want to know the truth? Sadly, in an empire of lies, the truth has become treason. ~Ron Paul

In the wake of so many of WikiLeaks revelations about the deepening secrecy and maliciousness of publicly funded government activities, it is crucial to rethink our approach to supporting and protecting whistleblowers. During the Obama presidency, government whistleblowers experienced an unprecedented level of official persecution.

As noted by renowned journalist, John Pilger:

Obama, the constitutional lawyer, prosecuted more whistleblowers than any other president in history, even though the US constitution protects them. He declared Chelsea Manning guilty before the end of a trial that was a travesty. He has refused to pardon Manning who has suffered years of inhumane treatment which the UN says amounts to torture. He has pursued an entirely bogus case against Julian Assange. He promised to close the Guantanamo concentration camp and didn’t. ~John Pilger

It appears we are in danger of maintaining this precedent under President Trump; however, people like Ron Paul are unafraid to speak truth in the empire of lies.